Home Outreach Leaders Articles for Outreach & Missions 5 Keys to Intimacy With God and Others

5 Keys to Intimacy With God and Others

When we share the depths of who we are with another person or with God, we come to depend on them. We trust them. We count on them to be present with us through the ups and downs of our lives. The result? Increased intimacy.

Intimacy with God is what’s there when we release all our fears.

Let’s face it. Fear is one of the main hurdles to overcome in being intimate.  But when we’re not afraid, we live the lives we’re meant to live.

You and I step into the fullness of who we’re created to be when we overcome the fears of being abandoned or let down or the fear of failing and truly step into deeper places of risk. That’s what intimacy is, risk.

Adventure is a necessary component of lasting intimacy. In adventure, we try new things together. We become risky in front of one another.

4. Intentionality

Busy-ness and distraction are the enemies of intimacy.

It’s easy to miss the point of life and the depth of intimacy simply by filling our lives with distractions and the busy-ness of day to day life. If we amble through life without intentionality, we come to the end of things and realize we’ve missed out on so much. There have been times in my life in which I’ve deliberately silenced what I knew to be the voice of God because I knew that listening would mess up my plans, my agenda. But with intentionality comes a willingness to silence the noise we’ve allowed to creep into our lives and put our focus where it should be.

When we step into a place of intentionality, we begin making more mature decisions.

Children engage with things because they are fun. Adolescents engage with things because they are cool. Adults engage with things because they are committed. See beyond the surface and go deep.

Intentionality helps us move from hopping from place to place, thing to thing, relationship to relationship. Instead, we begin investing for the long term and truly experience deep intimacy with God.

5. Service

In serving others, we grow in intimacy with those we serve, those we serve with and with God.

This is somewhat of a mystery to me, but in serving the people God calls us to serve, we somehow encounter him. In the telling of the parable of the sheep and the goats, Jesus says,

“Then the righteous will answer him, ‘Lord, when did we see you hungry and feed you, or thirsty and give you something to drink? When did we see you a stranger and invite you in, or needing clothes and clothe you? When did we see you sick or in prison and go to visit you?’

“The King will reply, ‘Truly I tell you, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers and sisters of mine, you did for me.’”

When we serve “the least of these,” we encounter God.

Today, decide to pursue intimacy with God. It’s not until we make space for intimacy that we discover it. We find intimacy with God — and others when we choose into it. So today, choose in.